INDEPENDENT NEWS

Government must provide certainty over RONS routes

Published: Mon 23 Apr 2018 09:56 AM
23 April 2018
Government must provide certainty over RONS routes
Road Transport Forum Chief Executive Ken Shirley is urging the Government to let communities know their plans for the former RONS routes.
“Communities around New Zealand that were looking forward to new safe motorways when the second tranche of RONS were announced now have no idea of the future for those routes,” says Shirley. “It is critical that the Government announces its specific intentions as soon as possible.”
“Many of the RONS projects shelved by this Government were planned for stretches of state highway with significant safety issues. It is therefore not unreasonable for local communities and transport operators that frequent those highways to be provided with some certainty over the Government’s intentions. At the moment everyone is in the dark.”
“Highways such as Katikati to Tauranga and Te Hana to Whangarei have seen a number of fatalities in recent times,” says Shirley. “Unfortunately, proposed projects for those routes seem to have been postponed indefinitely, despite the exemplary safety record of the existing RONS.”
“While the Government’s rhetoric is that the RONS projects are wasteful spending and that the new safety programme will be spread more broadly and be more effective, concerned regional communities have yet to find out what that will mean for their stretch of highway. It is time the Government let them in on their plans.”
ends

Next in New Zealand politics

Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
By: New Zealand Government
Parliamentary Network Breached By The PRC
By: New Zealand Government
GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan
By: New Zealand Government
Tax Cuts Now Even More Irresponsible
By: New Zealand Labour Party
New Zealand Provides Further Humanitarian Support To Gaza And The West Bank
By: New Zealand Government
High Court Judge Appointed
By: New Zealand Government
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media